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Burlington Discover Jazz Festival 2018

Burlington Discover Jazz Festival 2018
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Burlington Discover Jazz Festival
Burlington, Vermont
June 1-10, 2018

As the case with any festival worth attending at all, the passionate musiclover faces a challenge with Burlington Discover Jazz. Simply put, it's the choice between attending a marathon of events, thereby risking overload and over-stimulation, or more selectively discern which bills at which venues warrant the attention that will prove truly memorable. The latter approach invariably involves bringing individual taste into play, an attitude corresponding to that of the more casual fan who scans the roster of artists (and in the case of this ten-day festival, the multitude of free events around the Queen City), opting for familiar names and places or those that pique the curiosity. Either way, fanatics and dilettantes alike could readily satiate their appetites through the eclectic selections on offer for BDJF's thirty-fifth anniversary roster, including non-concert occasions such as round-table discussions and 'Meet the Artist' sessions plus music up and down the streets surrounding the various and sundry bills at the Flynn Center homebase (upstairs and down), Burlington's Waterfront Park and the legendary Nectar's venue.

Ben Harper & Charlie Musselwhite
Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington, Vermont
June 1, 2018

While the Preservation Hall Jazz Band was formally launching Discover Jazz on the MainStage on June first, the appearance of Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite in Higher Ground's Ballroom served as the missing link to the blues for the annual festival. A thoroughly delightful affair from start to finish, this first of the duo's two nights at the South Burlington club evoked memories of John Mayall and Matt Schofield in previous years of BDJF history and, although it was not an officially sanctioned presentation of the festival, the event nevertheless served as the missing link to the blues for the eclectic offerings around the neighboring city. In a little over two hours on stage in a single set, Harper and Musselwhite demonstrated the innate musicality of their chemistry and how its infectious nature informs the musicianship of their bandmates as much as their own. There's a mutual admiration in play between the principals that not only reflects their shared devotion to the blues-one that's rightfully earned them a Grammy-but also elevates the deep delight both take in playing together, minimizing less-than-positive personality traits (like Harper's crowd-pleasing antics) and on this Friday night precluded anything predictable: during the perfectly-paced performance, notable covers of Zeppelin and the Beatles got no greater acclamation than those afforded Musselwhite's spotlights, not to mention Harper's dramatic turn during the encore when he sang to a rapturous audience, sans microphone.

Black Market: A Tribute to Weather Report
Nectar's
June 2, 2018

It's an audacious move indeed to play any of Weather Report's material, much less devote an overall band concept to the distinctive compositions and arrangements of late keyboardist Joe Zawinul and saxophonist Wayne Shorter, but, in opening one of the pair of Discover Jazz occasions at Nectar's, local ensemble Black Market played it smart in their relatively early set. Opening with the iconic fusion band's best known tune, "Birdland," was a most astute means of drawing the attention of a rapidly-expanding crowd, after which the quintet then went on to successfully sidestepped the bane of tribute bands, that is, playing too correctly. There was as great a sense of play as reverence in the musicians' interactions on seven astute choices from a considerable discography and whether navigating delectable melody lines via leader Matt Dolliver's horns on "A Remark You Made" or allowing bassist Paddy Donely and drummer Cotter Ellis to generate borderline explosive rhythms during "Havona." On both fronts, the sound was both lush and pure thanks to the venue's sound guru Sergei Ushakov; the impeccable audio mix revealed nuances including, but was not limited to, the subtle colors from Gyasi Garcia's palette of keyboards, while the understated presence of Ben Bivens' electric guitar bestowed yet another distinction upon Black Market (Weather Report only ever used the instrument late in its history, via Carlos Santana on This Is This [Columbia, 1986]). The logical choice of a finale, the tune by which this band derived its name, suggested the highest compliment to be paid such homage is two- fold: the group in question does justice to its source with style and honest spirit-which is what happened here-and, in turn, inspires those listening to seek out the original.

Christian Scott Atunde Adjuah
FlynnSpace
June 3, 2018

With such a phenomenal band at his command, Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah might well have curtailed his lengthy introduction of those gifted individuals, not to mention the preface to the final tune of this early show and thus allowed more time (almost twenty minutes worth!?) for additional displays of gifted musicianship drummer Corey Fonville's two truncated turns in the spotlight. Certainly Lawrence Fields' extended solo on the Fender Rhodes was welcome, but a similar interlude at the grand piano would surely have been a valued addition to this first of two shows as would more than a single interlude of his own for bassist Kris Funn. The diminutive Elena Pinderhughes had her chance to shine too, but unfortunately only once, as she was otherwise relegated to playing her flute in harmony with the bandleader's horns on melody lines all-too-reminiscent of Miles Davis' Sketches of Spain (Columbia, 1960). There's no questioning the validity of the sentiments Scott/Adunde Adjuah proffered verbally, but given how rapturously he was welcomed to the stage and applauded by the attentive audience, he might have posited seeds of activism in those attendees equally effectively through more displays of collective and individual instrumental expertise.

Allison Miller's Boom Tic Boom
FlynnSpace
June 4, 2018

The music of Allison Miller's Boom Tic Boom is a comprised of utterly unique arrangements of comparably distinctive compositions and during the course of the sextet's performance this Monday evening, it was virtually impossible to tell where charts left off and improvisation began. The embroidery of structure and spontaneity delighted a near- capacity audience, but no one more than the bandleader herself: despite the increasingly oppressive heat in the small room, her grins of delight around the stage appeared more often as the near two hour performance progressed. Perhaps not quite so obvious as her handful of drum breaks, which were exercises in aerobics as much as technique reflecting the embroidered patterns of the material, those smiles were not only impossible to miss, but wholly justified. As on the opener, "Congratulations and Condolences," Miller and company traversed tricky transitions, adhered to cold stops and began most tunes with such collective and individual flourish, it's arguable Boom Tic Boom is an embarrassment of riches: pianist Myra Melford, for instance, repeatedly garnered attention by the exacting fashion she floated notes into spaces between the other instruments. In that regard, this group might benefit from having more room to move, but the benediction of the encore, again courtesy Melford, supplied such a perfectly dramatic finish, the often extraneous sounds of Jenny Scheinman's violin ultimately didn't matter too much.

Nikki Don't Lose That Number: The Nth Power Does The Dan
Nectar's
June 6, 2018

A precursor to the next night's performance of their own material at the BDJF Waterfront Tent, this late-night, roughly two-hour single set found Nikki Glaspie & company aided and abetted by some linchpins of the Burlington, Vermont music scene- saxophonists Dave Grippo and Bryan McNamara, plus trombonist/vocalist Jennifer Hartwick (fresh off two sets at FlynnSpace the previous night with Nth Power guitarist Nicholas Cassarino)-plus the formidable participation of Kofi Burbridge. The latter keyboardist/flautist has always acquitted himself quite stylishly, whether in his role as an ongoing member of the Derek Trucks/Tedeschi-Trucks bands or or when sitting in with the Allman Brothers Band at the Beacon Theater in New York, but his humble willingness to find his own level within this ensemble was as crucial as his soulful technical skills, virtues he shared with those co-habiting the stage on this night at Nectar's. Concentrating largely on latter-day Dan (understandably so to feature the horns), the ensemble offered note-perfect, yet earthy renditions of such numbers as "Peg" and "Babylon Sisters," largely eschewing early material except for the obvious choices, "Reelin' in the Years" and "Do It Again." The latter cull from Can't Buy A Thrill (ABC, 1972) extended an atmospheric interlude, wisely occurring near the homestretch of the set, that proceeded directly from the syncopated workout on "The Fez": The Nth Power and co. weren't so respectful of Fagen and Becker's work they did not extemporize, so this wasn't the only time the ensemble stretched out, only the moodiest. The generally upbeat approach suited a sold-out crowd that remained largely in place past the midnight hour to hear Burbridge add varied textures that, via Sergei Ushakov's stellar house sound. came through as loud and clear in the mix as electric and bass guitars.

The Nth Power
Waterfront Tent
June 7. 2018

The first of the customary two lakeside BDJF events got off to a suitably rousing start with the trio that formed the stable but mobile foundation for a septet at Nectar's the night prior. The Nth Power was playing to scant attendance when they started June 7th, but over the duration of this first of three acts on the bill, the crowd grew in proportion to its enthusiasm and rightly so: the trio consisting of guitarist/vocalist Nicholas Cassarino, drummer/vocalist Nikki Glaspie and bassist Nate Edgar played and sang with genuine, infectious fervor that enhanced their thankfully restrained exhortations to the audience on a sunny breezy lake shore. The Nth Power's impact belies its trio format: the bandleader often sounds like two (or more!) drummers playing in tandem, slapping out hard, heavy rhythms that in turn allow the otherwise unobtrusive Edgar to pluck, strum, pick and otherwise coax so wide a variety of sounds from his instrument that, with eyes closed, it might sound like a battery of keyboards. And hometown boy Cassarino is justifiably confident in his singing and guitar playing: he effectively used falsetto tones more often than just on his 'favorite song ever' of Earth, Wind & Fire's and he refuses to engage in gimmicks or shtick on his instrument. The gospel overtones of the Nth Power's short but potent set were far more obvious than the link of their sounds and sentiments to Jimi Hendrix' Band of Gypsys, while their understated solicitation on behalf of The Harold G. Robinson Foundation (for which they composed the tune "I Will Never Leave You Alone"), stood as an admirable and pragmatic expression of the generosity of spirit they espouse with such panache.

Anat Cohen & Choro Adventuruso
FlynnSpace
June 9, 2018

Whatever context in which she plays, the innate gaiety of Anat Cohen's clarinet playing comes through as a direct reflection of her ebullient personality, no more so perhaps than in the breezy but steadily rhythmic strains of the Brazilian music she plays with Choro Adventuroso. Her alliance with this trio of collaborators—Victor Gonsalves on accordion and piano, Cesar Garabino on seven-string guitar and Sergio Krakowski on pandiero—brings out the best in all involved, at least based on this sold-out first of two shows in the intimate underground venue. It was an altogether seamless offering from its bouncing beginning to a happily frenzied finish, even during the comparatively slower going: wisely interwoven into the hour-plus set was a languorous slow-motion version of its peppy surroundings, revealing how the melody lines curled up and around each other over reinforced echoes of the composition's inner rhythm. Then there was the percussive piece dominated by grand piano, stretching the dynamics of the band even further, the superior performance of which (not to mention the natural charm of artist-in residence Cohen's ingratiating between-song repartee), rendered confounding why such a devoted audience was not more demanding of an encore (the likes of which appeared later this same evening); perhaps there were more than a few planning on attending the second show as well and did not want to delay?

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